Thursday, October 31, 2013

New York Times reporter Elisabeth Rosenthal explains why more and more Americans are turning to foreign pharmacies, where prescription drugs are much cheaper. Pianist and 2013 MacArthur Fellow Jeremy Denk performs live in our studio. We'll find out about the Central Park Bioblitz—a census of plant and animal life found there. And we’ll find out why, out of thousands of hackers, 14 are going on trial for targeting PayPal in December 2010. And we’ll find out about NY Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s efforts to unseal documents about the riot at Attica prison in 1971.

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Piers Morgan, host of the CNN show Piers Morgan Live, talks about his approach to the news. Ben Schotton the wonderful German words to describe our lives. And Scientific American's Clara Moscowitz discusses the five questions that keep physicists awake at night.

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Chrisann Brennan talks about her relationship with Steve Jobs, which began in high school and continued after they had a child together. Donald Fagen, of the duo Steely Dan, discusses his music and new memoir. Boston Globe reporters Kevin Cullen and Shelley Murphy discuss the astonishing criminal career of and epic manhunt for the Boston gangster Whitey Bulger.

Monday, October 28, 2013

Friday, October 25, 2013

It’s Food Fridays! We’ll find out about how to eat sustainable, delicious, healthy food—at home and at restaurants. Then Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi, the partners behind London’s famous Ottolenghi restaurants, discuss Mediterranean food and Ottolenghi: The Cookbook. And this week’s Please Explain is all about candy!

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Writers Ruth Curry and Emma Straub, who live in New York, and Meghan Daum and Sari Botton, who’ve moved out of the city, talk about Joan Didion’s famous essay Goodbye to All That and share their own stories of loving and leaving New York. Composer Philip Glass discusses “In the Spirit,” a benefit concert for the Garrison Institute. Warren Buffett and his son Howard G.Buffett and grandson Howard W. Buffett talk about philanthropy and their work to end world hunger.

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

On today’s show: Three members of the cast of the hit Broadway revival of “The Glass Menagerie”—Cherry Jones, Celia Keenan-Bolger, and Brian J. Smith—talk about the play that catapulted Tennessee Williams to fame. And hockey legend Bobby Orr looks back at his remarkable career, explains how he revolutionized the position of defenseman, and talks about what he thinks of the game today.

Monday, October 21, 2013

Craig Venter was the first person to sequence the human genome. On today’s show: He talks about creating life in the new field of synthetic genomics. Oscar-winning director Costa-Gavras discusses “Capital,” his fast-paced film set in the high-stakes world of global finance. Boz Scaggs on his new album, “Memphis,” which is a kind of love letter to that city. Peter Carey joins us for this month’s Book Club! We’ve been reading his 1988 Booker Prize-winning novel, Oscar and Lucinda.

Friday, October 18, 2013

Martha Stewart returns to Food Fridays! She’ll be here to talk about cakes and why she’s only just starting to love her Bundt pans. Chef Daniel Boulud shares recipes from his new cookbook, named after his flagship restaurant, Daniel. Former Trader Joe’s President Doug Rauch describes his new project to help feed poor communities by selling deeply discounted food that may be past its official sell-by date, but is still safe to eat. And this week’s Please Explain is about the long, rich history of wine!

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Twelve years after the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, we’ll look at why the number of attacks from within the Afghan security forces is on the rise. Directors Joe Brewster and Michele Stephenson talk about their documentary, “American Promise,” which follows two African American boys over the course of 13 years. Alice McDermott discusses her latest novel, called Someone. We’ll look at why the Tennessee Valley Authority is coming under attack, just as it marks its 80th anniversary! And, we’ll find out the startling and mysterious increase in moose deaths.

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Jessica Alexander talks about what inspired her to become a foreign aid worker, and how her ideals clashed with reality when she was sent to Rwanda following the genocide there. Laurel Sturt describes the challenges of teaching at an elementary school in a poor Bronx neighborhood. Helen Fielding discusses returning to Bridget Jones in her new novel. We’ll get a history of maps going back to ancient times. And Silicon Valley’s Tom Kelley explains how we can tap into our own creativity to change our workplaces and our homes.

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Reporter Marie Colvin was killed in a rocket attack while she was covering the civil war in Syria in 2012. Her sister Cat Colvin and her colleague Paul Conroy discuss her life and work. Henry Bushkin talks about being Johnny Carson’s lawyer, fixer and confidant for 18 years. Jo Baker describes reimagining Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice for her novel Longbourn. And former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson shares his hard-won secrets to negotiating with Fidel Castro, Saddam Hussein, and the Taliban.

Monday, October 14, 2013

Florida Congresswoman and Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz talks about the challenges facing America and Congress. Actor James Franco talks about his acting and directing career, his debut novel, Actors Anonymous, and his latest film based on Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying. Amy Grace Loyd discusses her new novel, The Affairs of Others.Howard Gardner on why our reliance on smart gadgets may rob us of a sense of identity and even stunt our imaginations.

Friday, October 11, 2013

Melissa Clark shares her ideas on what to do with pumpkins other than carving them! We'll find out how the Food Network went from struggling start-up to cultural staple over the last 20 years. Documentarian Deborah Koons Garcia and scientists Ignacio Chapela and Michael Hansen talk about the complexity and mystery of soil. And, with another salmonella outbreak in the news, Please Explain is about the things that cause food poisoning.

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Lisa Miller talks about whether it’s possible to be an ethical parent and what kids learn by watching us navigate the world. New Yorker writer James B. Stewart discusses the significance of the 2012 collapse of the law firm Dewey & LeBoeuf. Kevin Barry talks about his latest collection of stories, Dark Lies the Island. We’ll find out why Hawaii has become a battleground for the debate over genetically modified crops. Plus, a look at the sites that have made the World Monument Fund’s annual watch list of endangered cultural heritage sites.

Wednesday, October 09, 2013

Investigative lawyer Terry Lenzner looks back at his varied career, including investigating the 1964 deaths of 3 civil rights workers and his work for the Senate Watergate Committee. Wendy Lower discusses the role German women played in the Holocaust. Susan Pourfar and Halley Feiffer talk about their roles in Ethan Coen’s new off-Broadway play, “Women or Nothing.” And our gurus of how-to, Al and Larry Ubell on how to prepare your home for the cooler weather.

Tuesday, October 08, 2013

We’ll talk to the directors of the Frontline documentary about how the NFL has dealt with concussions over the years, and why ESPN is refusing to air it. Kelly Carlin talks about life with her father, the great comedian George Carlin. National Book Award winner Norman Rush discusses his long-awaited novel, Subtle Bodies. Elizabeth Smart explains how she survived being abducted and held captive for 9 months.

Monday, October 07, 2013

Vanity Fair’s Kurt Eichenwald wonders whether Republicans are so frantic to stop Obamacare because they fear it will actually work. Then, 11-term Illinois Congressman Luis Gutierrez describes growing up between two worlds and how his years in Chicago’s City Council were great training for the rough and tumble of Washington. Lore Segal talks about her new novel, Half the Kingdom, a light-hearted look at a very dark topic. And New York Times reporter Elisabeth Rosenthal looks at whether the Affordable Care Act can actually help make health care financially viable.

Friday, October 04, 2013

Liz Neumark talks about owning one of the city’s premier catering companies and an organic farm—and how to make farm-to-table cooking a reality. We’ll find out about the story of The Stop, which started as a food bank in Toronto, and is now a community center with gardens, a greenhouse, and a farmers market. Marisa McClellan, who writes the blog Food in Jars, shares some pickling tips for everything from cauliflower to squash. This week’s Please Explain is all about the Farm Bill—we’ll find out what programs are affected by the omnibus spending bill, which has been stalled in Congress for over a year.

Thursday, October 03, 2013

New York Times Social Q’s columnist Philip Galanes takes your calls and questions about pet etiquette and how to gracefully handle sticky situations with Fido and his owner. The director of a documentary about the tragic 1985 standoff between the radical group MOVE and the Philadelphia Police Department. Tash Aw on his latest novel, Five Star Billionaire, set in Shanghai. We’ll find out why despite an international ban, the ivory trade continues, and is targeting young elephants for their valuable tusks. Plus, a look at the science of cloud seeding, and how being able to make it rain could help in the fight against drought and crop failure.

Wednesday, October 02, 2013

Between the looming fiscal cliff, a government shutdown, and ideological differences, relationship between President Obama and the Speaker of the House John Boehner has been rocky for months. On today’s show: Hardball host Chris Matthews talks about how President Reagan and House Speaker Tip O’Neill worked together throughout the 1980s. Baritone Mariusz Kwiecien on singing the title role in the Metropolitan Opera’s production of “Eugene Onegin.” David Finkel shares stories of being embedded with an infantry battalion in Iraq—and again when they returned home. Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit, suggests ways to use the power of the Web to do good in the world.

Tuesday, October 01, 2013

On today’s show: former CIA analyst Kenneth Pollack talks about the significance of the more moderate rhetoric that we’ve been hearing from Iran’s president Hassan Rouhani—and whether the US can ever resolve the Iran nuclear question. Elizabeth Gilbert discusses The Signature of Things, her first novel in 13 years. We’ll look at the rise of Mao Zedong and the price that was paid in his attempts to transform the Chinese into “The New People” at whatever cost. Historian Jill Lepore introduces us to Benjamin Franklin’s sister Jane, who was a gifted writer and a shrewd political commentator.

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